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Home My WebLink About2025-03-24 NHCHLC Minutes NEW HANOVER COUNTY HISPANIC/LATINO COMMISSION MINUTES Location: Government Center, Room 136 March 25, 2025 – 5:00pm I) Call to Order and Agenda Meeting called to order at 5:00pm Motioned by Maria, Seconded by Helen Members present: Dr. Andres Afanador, Dr. Amanda Boomershine, Natalie Picazo, Janeth Howard, Maria Carmen Rodriguez Morales, Joseph Casares, Gabriel Guerra, Helen Tarokic, and Lambeth Chalk Members absent: Dr. Edelmira Segovia and Gustavo Rodea Staff: Monica Rohena II) Approved Agenda motioned by Helen, seconded by Gabriel III) Chair Comments Changing mission as some members leave and new members join. Gabriel and Helen’s last meeting will be in April. IV) Committee Updates a. Information and Civic Engagement Subcommittee- The subcommittee did not meet. A draft of the proposed NHC Resolution letter was emailed to all members. To help with this letter, information had been requested results from Faith Action ID counties where proposed resolutions both passed and failed. The summary of their research outlines the Commented \[bo1\]: I don't understand this sentence pros and cons of having a letter of resolution and explains the reasons for denial in certain counties. b. Advocacy for Public Education Subcommittee – Researched options for high school students to earn credit through assessments such as the AAPPL Test or Credit Demonstrated by Mastery Test. Last month, the Mexican consulate assisted students in obtaining necessary documents, and the Latino Alliance helped the school system understand the required format and documentation. Potential changes within the Department of Education could have local impacts, including on programs like English Language support. c. Language Access Subcommittee– The subcommittee did not meet but spoke with Mari regarding the language access line. There is uncertainty surrounding the NHC language access plan in it’s current state due to county budget considerations. Currently, there is no designated budget line for language access in the county, leaving it unclear whether funding is coming from another source. d. Health and Wellness Subcommittee- Joe met with New Hanover Outreach Clinic (formerly St. Mary’s Clinic), and Andres met with MedNorth. S/C is finalizing a Commented \[bo2\]: What does S/C mean? summary of available services and how they operate. In April, Andres will shadow El Cuerpo. There is hope that involvement from Latin/Hispanic BRG staff at Novant will be Commented \[bo3\]: What does BRG mean? beneficial. The subcommittee is also exploring ways to engage medical students in community volunteering, potentially through a free clinic staffed by medical students or other healthcare professionals. The newly established NH Outreach Clinic is located on 17th St., near the Michael Jordan Clinic, with the goal of expanding services. V) Old Business a. H/L Resolution Handoff – Joe would like to reach out to other counties that did and did not have success in getting a letter of resolution approved. That process will begin soon. b. Community Survey Results- Focusing on the organizations that do not have any bilingual staff to see if they are actively looking for employees that are bilingual. They also wanted to see if they had services beyond brochures or flyers. 110 were contacted;44 responded. They will look for common themes under the responses for the question about barriers (#6). c. Resource Fair- goal is to have 35-40 agencies participate and they have 31 registrations. Flyers almost completed and will be shared with commission members for distribution throughout community. They have been in touch about communications with the city. The fair is scheduled May 3 11:00am-2:00pm. Joe will send out sign up genius to HL Commission for our table. d. Nametags, Tablecloth, etc.- ordered. Tablecloth will only have the NH County logo, not the HL Commission logo. VI) New Business a. Commission Appointments 2025- The county promoted applications through social media and other avenues. Applications are forwarded to commissioners. We will learn of th new members by April 22. We will continue current schedule through May (27) and then vote on upcoming year meeting dates and times with new members on commission. New members will be appointed at April 22 meeting. b. Community Communication Mechanisms – The commission discussed three proposed methods for sharing information with the community:  Visual Podcast– Explore setting up a podcast with Su Condado to highlight subcommittees and other relevant topics.  Website – Work with the county’s IT team to determine how information, such as health resource links and language access details, will be screened and shared on the county website. A meeting with IT will be scheduled this month.  Newsletter – Develop a newsletter template to be emailed out with key updates. Joe will initiate these processes. VII) Other Business- no other business VIII) Upcoming Events- no discussion due to time constraints. n IX) Public Comments - Unitarian Church’s social justice committee is partnering with Siembra ICE Formatted: Font: Bold th watch program April 29. Siembra is in Greensboro. www.siembranc.org X) Adjourn- motioned by Lambeth, seconded by Helen NEXT MEETING – April, 26 2024 – 5:00pm, Government Center Room 137